A younger British lady held in a Sri Lankan jail with out cost for the final three weeks might nonetheless be months away from a bail listening to after her arrest for allegedly smuggling £1.2m price of artificial hashish, or kush, in her baggage, her lawyer instructed The Impartial.
Charlotte Might Lee, 21, a former cabin attendant from south London, was arrested on 12 Might at Bandaranaike airport, Colombo, after arriving on a flight from Bangkok. She stays in custody on remand for allegedly carrying 46kg of hashish in two suitcases.
Her lawyer, senior counsel Sampath Perera, stated his consumer was “coping” as she will get used to her scenario, although he wouldn’t say she was in “completely good situation”. “She is doing OK and adjusting to a very totally different and alien atmosphere in a third-world nation,” Mr Perera instructed The Impartial, including that little extra might be anticipated of a younger lady in such circumstances.
Ms Lee has denied figuring out in regards to the presence of alleged medication in her baggage. She stays in jail in Negombo, a metropolis simply north of the capital, and has but to be charged as police proceed their investigation, Mr Perera stated. He stated the report would affirm if the contents from her baggage have been unlawful substances.
“I submitted an software over the past court docket listening to requesting that the alleged drug substances be despatched to the federal government analyst division for evaluation and that the ensuing report be submitted to the court docket.”
The subsequent step within the case can be to file a bail software for Ms Lee, Mr Perera stated, however he warned that it might take two to 3 months to safe launch on bail, relying on how the method goes. “She is harmless till confirmed responsible. The case has received worldwide consideration and it has jeopardised the protection and privateness of my consumer, who continues to be suspected and never charged,” he stated, including that her household within the UK was “struggling” because of the media consideration.
Ms Lee, a former cabin crew member for TUI, has been working as a beautician. She faces as much as 25 years in jail if discovered responsible.
She was reportedly holidaying in Thailand after which got here to Sri Lanka as her 30-day visa was about to run out, with the intention of returning to Thailand after it was renewed. She left England for Thailand in late April.
Sporting an all-white costume and along with her fingers cuffed behind her, Ms Lee was seen for the primary time since her arrest at her procedural court docket look on Friday 30 Might. She broke down in tears as she stood within the witness field whereas proceedings occurred within the native Sinhalese language.
She must seem at court docket each 14 days so long as she stays in custody on remand, in line with Sri Lankan regulation. Her subsequent listening to is on 13 June.
Ms Lee stays in contact along with her household within the UK however she has not but been allowed “e-visits” that would come with video calls with household and buddies. Mr Perera stated her sister is prone to go to Colombo quickly to assist signal paperwork to make that occur.
Kush is an artificial drug that that’s spreading shortly in west Africa, significantly in Sierra Leone, the place it first appeared in 2022 and has since claimed hundreds of lives. It’s used as a depressant with the promise of a stress-relieving excessive however accommodates poisonous chemical substances such because the opioids tramadol and fentanyl, and formalin, a chemical utilized in mortuaries to protect our bodies. Low cost and extremely addictive, kush is commonly linked to organised trafficking networks.
Media reviews have urged investigators are contemplating whether or not Ms Lee’s case is linked to that of Bella Culley, an 18-year-old from Teesside who’s being held in a Georgia jail on suspicion of drug offences. The 2 have been arrested inside a day of one another, each having flown out of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport alone.
Ms Culley might face life imprisonment if discovered responsible of illegally importing medication to Georgia. Photos of her alleged drug haul present hermetically sealed packages with the phrase “hash” written over brown coverings.
In Ms Lee’s case, images printed by Sri Lanka’s customs narcotics management unit confirmed the alleged medication present in her baggage vacuum packed in plastic baggage, which they stated indicated an expert job.
The Impartial has reached out to the British Excessive Fee in Colombo.
